Russian athlete zigzag at awards ceremony in Portugal: his mother said he 'sent her a heart'

15-year-old Russian Artem Severyukhin was fired from the Ward Racing karting team for misbehaving on the podium, reports Sport-Express.

Photo: Shutterstock

Until April 11, karting driver Artem Severyukhin from the Ural city of Verkhnyaya Pyshma was little known even to motorsport fans. But he became infamous in just a few hours, which, most likely, cost the young athlete his career. Just one gesture destroyed what the athlete had worked for since elementary school. On April 10, Artem won the opening stage of the European Karting Championship in Portugal.

During the award ceremony, the Russian rider, who competed under an Italian license due to sanctions, demonstrated a gesture on the podium that many perceived as a Nazi salute. After the video of the “salute”, which was accompanied by the laughter of the athlete, scattered across social networks, the most sad consequences came for Severyukhin.

#Russian driver Artyom Severyukhin, competing under the Italian flag at the #european Junior Karting Championship #Nazi salute at the awards ceremony.

He competes under the #Italian flag because of the sanctions imposed on #Russia. pic.twitter.com/q4wOGHPsvR

- NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 11, 2022

"I know it's my fault, I know it's stupid"

First, it became known that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) initiated a disciplinary case against Artem. Then Severyukhin's actions were condemned by the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF). “The Russian Automobile Federation reports that Artem Severyukhin received a detachment from the RAF and competed at the European Championship under an Italian license, which is why Artem has the Italian flag on the protocol and the Italian anthem sounded on the podium,” the Russian statement said. - We also report that we consider unacceptable any, even accidental, manifestation of fascism and Nazism in Russian motorsport and among Russian athletes. Our further comments on how the incident will be regarded and what measures will be applied to the athlete will follow later, after the meeting of the RAF Sports Council.”

On the subject: Germany evacuates Holocaust victims from Ukraine to save them from Russian shelling

Well, in the end, a message came that the Swedish team Ward Racing, for which the young man played, terminated his contract.

“Ward Racing condemns the actions of the pilot Artem Severyukhin as a manifestation of unsportsmanlike conduct, an unacceptable violation of the ethical and moral sports code and announces the impossibility of continuing further cooperation and termination of the contract,” the official statement says.

“Artem Severyukhin’s actions during the awards ceremony on April 10, 2022 were purely individual and in no way reflect the views and values ​​of Ward Racing. "To the contrary, Ward Racing joins the international community in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and expressing its solidarity with the people affected by this unprovoked and horrific attack," the statement said.

“Standing on the podium, I made a gesture that many perceived as a Nazi salute, but this is not so,” Severyukhin explained his behavior in a video message to the fans. “I never supported Nazism, I consider it one of the most terrible crimes against humanity.” According to Severyukhin, some foreign acquaintances explained to him that in Italy it is customary to hit oneself on the chest in the region of the heart, expressing gratitude. “I wanted to portray this gesture. How everything else came about I cannot explain. I know it's my fault, I know it's stupid. Ready to be punished, ”said the pilot.

Tatyana Severyukhina, the mother of the pilot, began to actively justify him, reports Columnist. At the same time, her arguments looked, to put it mildly, implausible.

“People see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, believe what they want to believe, and refuse to believe what they don’t like. He sent hearts to the team and to me,” the woman wrote on the FIA ​​page.

When asked if she was seriously writing such things, Severyukhina replied, yes, “I know my son.” At the same time, they wrote to her that it looked disgusting.

It is perceived unequivocally

Fans note in social networks that Artyom really, perhaps, meant the “Roman salute” (hitting himself with his fist in the chest and throwing his right hand forward). This greeting has existed since ancient times, but the question is not where the roots of this action come from, but how it is now perceived by others. And this is perceived quite unequivocally as a Nazi symbol - largely due to the fact that the "Roman salute" was first used as a party greeting by the Italian fascists, and then its modernized version - by the German National Socialists.

Therefore, now the stories that in fact Severyukhin allegedly wanted to thank his relatives from Russia and for some reason used an ancient gesture look very unconvincing. The "Roman salute" has long been adopted by far-right fans of the Roman football club "Lazio", for which the leader of the fascists, Benito Mussolini, seemed to support at one time. In 2005, the team player Paolo Di Canio, who saluted the stands at the stadium in this way, received a fine of 10 thousand euros and then had to explain that he was not a supporter of Nazism.

In general, by accident or intentionally, but the racer Severyukhin acted very stupidly, literally ruining his career in an instant. The stain of a person capable of provoking a scandal out of the blue will lie on him for a very long time, even if he still gets the opportunity to start at the international level or in Russia.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

This young man is now one of the few Russians who continue to perform abroad. Against the backdrop of sanctions, a condition was set before all our racers and navigators - either race under a neutral flag, signing a political declaration, or start with a license from another country. As a result, under a neutral flag now, for example, Alexander Smolyar competes in Formula 3, and some racers, like Severyukhin, preferred a foreign license. But the majority of pilots from the Russian Federation in such a situation preferred to abandon international starts altogether.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Respiratory failure and vestibulo-atactic syndrome: Russians used chemical weapons in Mariupol

The wounds of Abkhazia and Ossetia have been opened up: Russians are fleeing en masse to Georgia, but they are not very welcome there

Both legs are crippled: an American journalist miraculously got out from under Russian shelling in Ukraine

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.